(Vatican Radio) Amongst the 30.000 people present in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday for the weekly General Audience was Spanish filmstar Antonio Banderas.

Accompanied by his girlfriend, Nicole Kimpel, Banderas was greeted personally by Pope Francis at the end of his catechesis and after having made an appeal for prayers for his upcoming visit to the Greek island of Lesbos in solidarity with refugees fleeing conflict.

After the meeting Banderas tweeted: 'nice chat with Pope Francis before we start filming in Rome'. Ahead of the audience he had let his followers know he was excited and looking forward to the meeting.

The new film he is referring to is shrouded in secrecy. What has transpired is that Banderas will be playing the lead role in a film on the life of fashion designer Gianni Versace directed by Bille August.

The Oscar winning Danish film director made the announcement recently and said that he will be focussing on personal aspects of Versace’s life and highlighting unexplored aspects of his work.

Antonio Banderas is United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador.

(Vatican Radio) One must be docile to the Holy Spirit, said Pope Francis Thursday at Mass in his residence of Casa Santa Marta, and one must not resist Him. Pope Francis warns against those who resist the Spirit with "so-called fidelity to the law" and invites the faithful to pray for the grace of the docility to the Spirit.

Philip evangelized the Ethiopian, a senior official of Queen Candace. Pope Francis was inspired by this fascinating account in the Acts of the Apostles, in the first reading of today, focusing his attention on the docility to the Holy Spirit.

Do not resist the Spirit under the guise of loyalty to the law

The protagonist of this meeting, Pope Francis noted, is in fact not so much Philip, nor even the Ethiopian, but just the Spirit. "It is Him who does things. It is the Spirit who gives birth to and grows the Church.”

"In days past, the Church has shown us how there can be a drama of resisting the Spirit: closed, hard, foolish hearts resisting the Spirit. We’ve seen things - the healing of the lame man by Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; the words and the great things Stephen was doing … but they were closed off to these signs of the Spirit and resisted the Spirit. They were seeking to justify this resistance with a so-called fidelity to the law, that is, to the letter of the law."

In referring to the reading, Pope Francis said that "the Church proposes the opposite: no resistance to the Spirit, but docility to the Spirit, which is precisely the attitude of the Christian.” He continued: “Being docile to the Spirit, this docility is the yes that the Spirit may act and move forward to build up the Church.” Here, he added, is Philip, one of the Apostles, “busy as all bishops are, and this day surely he had his plan to work.” But the Spirit tells him to leave what he has planned and go to the Ethiopian - "and he obeyed." Pope Francis then outlined the meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian, in which the Apostle explains the Gospel and its message of salvation. The Spirit, he said, "was working in the heart of the Ethiopian", offers him "the gift of faith and this man felt something new in his heart." And at the end he asks to be baptized, being docile to the Holy Spirit.

Docility to the Spirit gives us joy

"Two men,” the Pope said, “one an evangelist and one who knew nothing of Jesus, but the Spirit had sowed a healthy curiosity, not the curiosity of gossip." And in the end the eunuch goes his way with joy, "the joy of the Spirit, in the docility of the Spirit."

"We have heard, these past days, about resistance to the Spirit; and today we have an example of two men who were docile to the voice of the Spirit. And the sign of this is joy. Docility to the Spirit is a source of joy. “But I would like to do something, this … but I feel the Lord ask me to do something else. Joy I will find there, where there is the call of the Spirit!”

It is the Holy Spirit who carries the Church forward

A beautiful prayer asking for this docility, the Pope revealed, we may find in the First Book of Samuel, the prayer which the priest Eli suggests to the young Samuel, who during the night heard a voice calling to him: "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

"This is a beautiful prayer that we can always pray: 'Speak, Lord, because I am listening.' The prayer asking for this docility to the Holy Spirit and with this docility to carry forward the Church, to be instruments of the Spirit so that the Church can move forward. 'Speak, Lord, because your servant is listening'. We should pray this many times a day: when we have a doubt, when we do not know what to do, or when we want simply to pray. And with this prayer we ask for the grace of docility to the Holy Spirit."

Thursday of the Third Week of EasterLectionary: 276

Reading 1ACTS 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,“Get up and head south on the roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”So he got up and set out.Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of the Candace,that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,in charge of her entire treasury,who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit said to Philip,“Go and join up with that chariot.”Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,“Do you understand what you are reading?”He replied,“How can I, unless someone instructs me?”So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,so he opened not his mouth.In his humiliation justice was denied him.Who will tell of his posterity?For his life is taken from the earth.

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?About himself, or about someone else?”Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,he proclaimed Jesus to him.As they traveled along the roadthey came to some water,and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water.What is to prevent my being baptized?”Then he ordered the chariot to stop,and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,and he baptized him.When they came out of the water,the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,and the eunuch saw him no more,but continued on his way rejoicing.Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good newsto all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Responsorial PsalmPS 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Bless our God, you peoples,loudly sound his praise;He has given life to our souls,and has not let our feet slip.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declarewhat he has done for me.When I appealed to him in words,praise was on the tip of my tongue.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Blessed be God who refused me notmy prayer or his kindness!R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.

AlleluiaJN 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;whoever eats this bread will live forever.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,and I will raise him on the last day.It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.Not that anyone has seen the Fatherexcept the one who is from God;he has seen the Father.Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever believes has eternal life.I am the bread of life.Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;this is the bread that comes down from heavenso that one may eat it and not die.I am the living bread that came down from heaven;whoever eats this bread will live forever;and the bread that I will giveis my Flesh for the life of the world.”

Pope Francis addressed staff and seminarians of the Pontifical Scots College in Rome 14 April 2016 - AFP

14/04/2016 12:30

(Vatican Radio) Offer your lives “completely” to the Lord; “we too are living in a time of martyrdom, and in the midst of a culture so often hostile to the Gospel:” that’s the message Pope Francis gave to staff and students at thePontifical Scots College Thursday as they celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding as a seminary.

The Scots College in Rome was founded by Pope Clement VIII in 1600 for Catholic education at a time when Catholic instruction and preaching were illegal at home. On 10th March 1616, the Pontifical Scots College became a seminary.

In his discourse to those present Thursday, Pope Francis held up as a model of committed priesthood the martyred Scottish Jesuit Saint John Ogilvie who died for the faith in 1615. The saint was hanged and drawn at Glasgow Cross for clandestinely celebrating Mass in the homes of the few Catholics remaining in Scotland and for refusing to pledge allegiance to King James VI.

In 1616, and inspired by Ogilvie’s determined ministry, the College’s first 16 students vowed to return to Scotland as priests to follow in his footsteps.

Pope Francis said that the martyrdom of Saint John Ogilvie, “which was meant to silence the Catholic faith, instead was an impetus for its promotion and for defending the Church’s freedom to remain in communion with the See of Peter. The ‘yes’ proclaimed by the sixteen men four hundred years ago was eloquent not simply for their good intentions, but rather because they persevered, and prepared themselves in every way, returning to Scotland to face the hardships that awaited them, even if it meant becoming martyrs themselves.”

Below please find the official English translation of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks:

Dear Archbishop Tartaglia, Archbishop Cushley,

Dear Members of Staff and Seminarians of the Pontifical Scots College,

It am pleased to welcome you today, as together we commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of the transformation of the Pontifical Scots College into a seminary for priestly formation. This anniversary is significant not only for the many years it marks, but even more so because we recall the fidelity of the sixteen men who, on 11 March 1616, were resolute in their determination to return to Scotland as priests to preach the Gospel. That decision was born of a martyr’s blood.

The martyrdom of Saint John Ogilvie, which was meant to silence the Catholic faith, instead was an impetus for its promotion and for defending the Church’s freedom to remain in communion with the See of Peter. The “yes” proclaimed by the sixteen men four hundred years ago was eloquent not simply for their good intentions, but rather because they persevered, and prepared themselves in every way, returning to Scotland to face the hardships that awaited them, even if it meant becoming martyrs themselves. Theirs was a life which sought the joys and peace that Christ alone could offer. Looking out at you today, I can see that, through the grace of God, the martyrdom of Saint John and the courage of those sixteen men has borne fruit in your beloved homeland.

We too are living in a time of martyrdom, and in the midst of a culture so often hostile to the Gospel. I urge you to have that same selfless spirit as your predecessors did. Love Jesus above all things! Let your “yes” be marked by a firm resolve to give yourselves generously to your priestly formation, so that your years in Rome may prepare you to return to Scotland and to offer your lives completely. If you have this same passion as your brothers from four hundred years ago, that same love for the Church and Scotland, you will honour the history and sacrifices we recall today. You will also become in this moment a sign to the Scottish people, especially the youth, if you encounter them in their everyday lives, if you reach out to those who are furthest from Christ. Show them, each and every one, that God is always with us and that his mercy endures for ever.

In this Jubilee of Mercy, I pray that the Lord may grant you the courage and grace to be faithful to his will, by being dedicated to prayer, by loving Jesus, especially in the Holy Eucharist, and by entrusting yourselves to the care of Mary our Mother. Upon you and all the faithful in Scotland, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord. God bless you all!

Born at Schiedam, Holland, 18 April 1380;Died 14 April, 1433.Patron: of sickness; chronically ill, ice skaters, town of SchiedamHer father, Peter by name, came of a noble family while her mother Petronella, born at Kethel, Holland, was a poor country girl. Both were poor. Very early in her life St. Lidwina was drawn towards the Mother of God and prayed a great deal before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. During the winter of the year of 1395, Lidwina went skating with her friends, one of whom caused her to fall upon some ice with such violence that she broke a rib in her right side. This was the beginning of her martyrdom. No medical skill availed to cure her. Gangrene appeared in the wound caused by the fall and spread over her entire body. For years she lay in pain which seemed to increase constantly. Some looked on her with suspicion, as being under the influence of the evil spirit. Her pastor, Andries, brought her an unconsecrated host, but the saint distinguished it at once. But God rewarded her with a wonderful gift of prayer and also with visions. Numerous miracles took place at her bed-side. The celebrated preacher and seer, Wermbold of Roskoop, visited her after previously beholding her in spirit. The pious Arnold of Schoonhoven treated her as a friend. Hendrik Mande wrote for her consolation a pious tract in Dutch. When Joannes Busch brought this to her, he asked her what she thought of Hendrik Mande's visions, and she answered that they came from God. In a vision she was shown a rose-bush with the words, "When this shall be in bloom, your suffering will be at an end." In the spring of the year 1433, she exclaimed, "I see the rose-bush in full bloom!" From her fifteenth to her fifty-third year, she suffered every imaginable pain; she was one sore from head to foot and was greatly emaciated. On the morning of Easter-day, 1433, she was in deep contemplation and beheld, in a vision, Christ coming towards her to administer the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. She died in the odour of great sanctity. At once her grave became a place of pilgrimage, and as early as 1434 a chapel was built over it. Joannes Brugmann and Thomas à Kempis related the history of her life, and veneration of her on the part of the people increased unceasingly. In 1615 her relics were conveyed to Brussels, but in 1871 they were returned to Schiedam. On 14 March, 1890, Leo XIII put the official sanction of the Church upon that veneration which had existed for centuries.Shared From The Catholic Encyclopedia